Why School Administrators Need to Know
About Distance Learning: A College Professor's Perspective

By Dr. Gary Wenzel, Assistant Professor, Department
of Educational Leadership and Foundations, State University of West Georgia,
gwenzel@westga.edu

As a college professor who uses distance media to provide graduate education
to teachers and school administrators, I sometimes encounter principals
and assistant principals who are adamant that an understanding of technology
and distance learning should not fall under their responsibilities. Besides
the obvious - that they can take advantage of conveniently delivered courses
themselves - how else can distance learning benefit school administrators?
This article discusses the reasons why distance learning should be a necessary
part of a university's Educational Leadership program.

Knowledge

At a minimum, school administrators should understand the basic technologies
that they are asking their staff to utilize and their students to learn.
A distance learning program that requires various technology competencies
is one way that administrators may gain valuable hands on experience.
At the State University of West Georgia, the Specialist and Masters in
Education Leadership uses both two-way videoconferencing classes and online
components to serve both the dual responsibility of providing content and
facilitating technology experience.

In addition to the basic technology competencies gained through the
use of distance learning technologies, may also gain a more thorough understanding
of the difficulties their staff and students may face if working with substandard
equipment or support. Undoubtedly the administrators' personal experiences
will make them better equipped to ask the right questions when it is time
to prepare for technology planning.

This first hand experience can also best illustrate how videoconferencing,
the Internet, computer-based learning and other technologies can most effectively
be used to enhance their schools' traditional curriculum and improve learning
outcomes. As an administrator, it is paramount that one understand under
what circumstances education technology can be least or most cost-effective
and actually improve learning. As a 1998 study by the Milken Exchange has
shown, what's most important is how education technology is used:

"Eighth graders whose teachers used computers mostly for "simulations
and applications"--generally associated with higher-order thinking--performed
better on NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress, US Department
of Education) than students whose teachers did not. Meanwhile, 8th graders
whose teachers used computers primarily for "drill and practice"--generally
associated with lower-order thinking--performed worse students
whose teachers had professional development in computers outperformed students
whose teachers didn't (Trotter, 1998)."

Leadership

Since the role of the school administrator is that of expedition guide
- to organize, facilitate, deploy, and rescue - school administrators hold
a pivotal role in influencing teachers' perception of technology. Feedback
from school administrators leading teachers in technology-enhanced education
may provide the very support needed to overcome a natural resistance resulting
from technophobia. While some teachers approaching retirement may never
welcome new technology, principals who are experienced with distance learning
and other technologies can provide the impetus for positive change when
they identify and support those who do aggressively pursue innovation (Mageau,
1994).

George and Sleeth (1996) noted that resistance to technology might be
the result of feeling under-skilled or anticipating a loss of control.
In my own experience, our students' resistance dramatically decreased
as their confidence in their ability rose. These school superintendents,
building principals and assistants, will best serve their teaching faculties
when they are fully acclimated to the technologies themselves. Through
their own understanding of and experience with distance education, they
can provide a climate that rewards the use of technology as a strategic
asset for the school and its learners.

In the larger picture, administrators who swivel from their desk to
the computer to email their faculty or participate on an internet-based
bulletin board are certainly more likely to support district, state and
national distance learning and technology initiatives. Thus, their support
of technology will ultimately effect teachers and the lives of children
everywhere who must increasingly prepare for a global marketplace. Administrators
need to ensure that all students are provided the same advantages. Eventually,
the wall of fear will disintegrate as school administrators entice and
encourage faculty personalities into the amazing world of technology and
assist in demystifying the uncomfortable vagaries attending the emerging
computer age.

Opportunities

In my class one extraordinary student has excelled - a teacher who is
deaf. At a remote site two interpreters must take turns signing during
the distance class which is broadcast live over two-way video. It is when
the class turns to the Internet for discussion of issues that this unique
student invites us into her world; when interacting on the bulletin board
or chat rooms, she is thrilled that she need not rely on anyone else to
speak her mind. She has been our guide, leading us on an adventurous technological
journey. Through this experience as distance learners, school administrators
have not only become well versed with the Internet and interactive application
tools, but have developed a first-hand appreciation for the unique advantages
afforded the physically challenged through technology.

Students are also amazed that the online course tools they access from
home don't put them 'at a distance' at all. Through these classes, future
administrators are learning how the level of one-on-one interaction and
feedback can actually be increased by the use of bulletin boards where
every student has an equal opportunity to be heard without the time constraints
of a traditional classroom. Likewise, students also witness the strain
that the shear volume of interaction may place on a professor, if efficient
class management techniques are not utilized.

Conclusion

"At first light on June 8, two other members of the 1924 British
team, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine, departed the highest camp
for the top [of MT. Everest]. Mallory, whose name is inextricably linked
to Everest, was the driving force behind the first three expeditions to
the peak. While on a lantern-slide tour of the United States, it was he
who so notoriously quipped, 'Because it is there' when an irritating newspaperman
demanded to know why he wanted to climb Everest." (Krakauer, 1997)

Three years ago I trekked Nepal's Annapurna Himal and Everest ranges,
pausing at the mountain village schools to visit with the local school
administrators (Wenzel, 1998); it occurred to me that the teachers and
administrators of these rudimentary schools need not be handicapped by
remoteness. Imagine teachers two hours from the nearest university driving
a few minutes to the local high school to take a school business management
videoconferencing course, or gaining on-line course access from the family
or work computer. This is happening now for many teachers and administrator
aspirants. Now imagine teachers in Nepal trekking to the local Nepali village
school to take that same school business management course from the same
professor.

"Why not?" is an aptly heard reply in Nepal to most any question.
If school administrators will lead the way for teachers, the future of
distance learning, and its positive impact on connecting global learners
will make a difference for all learners. "Because it is there!"
-- distance learning and its promise for the twenty-first century may significantly
transform traditional classroom schooling; tomorrow's administrators should
be prepared.

Wenzel, G. C. (1998). Principal's optimism in Asian Nepali schools.
TESOL in Action: Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages Journal.
Carrollton, GA: State University of West Georgia.

Biographical Statement

Gary C. Wenzel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational
Leadership and Foundations at the State University of West Georgia, Carrollton,
GA 30118. Phone: 770-836-4464; Fax: 770-836-4646; E-mail: gwenzel@westga.edu.
Dr. Wenzel's research interests include the dynamics of school leadership
succession, superintendence as a career for females, and international
topics involving administrative and teacher perception of school culture,
reading and multicultural education.